A method and apparatus for forming a semiconductor sheet suitable for use
as a solar cell by depositing an array of solidified drops of a feed
material on a sheet support. The desired properties of the sheet
fabricated with the teaching of this invention are: flatness, low
residual stress, minority carrier diffusion length greater than 40
microns, and minimum grain dimension at least two times the minority
carrier diffusion length. In one embodiment, the deposition chamber is
adapted to form and process sheets that have a surface area of about
1,000-2,400 cm.sup.2.